Chocolate Linzer Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier or Stroh 160 Spiced Rum (See Cook’s Tips)
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup super-fine blanched almond flour
• 3 tablespoons black cocoa powder (See Cook’s Tip)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 tablespoons apricot or raspberry jam
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Directions:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes), scraping sides of bowl as needed.
2. Add yolk, liqueur, and almond extract. Beat until combined.
3. Into a medium bowl, sift together both flours, cocoa powder, and salt. Add to wet ingredients and mix until just combined. You should have a soft, slightly sticky dough.
4. Scrape dough from mixing bowl onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Flatten into a disc and wrap tightly. Refrigerate at least 1 hour, preferably overnight.
5. Remove dough from fridge. Allow dough to soften slightly before rolling out to 1/8-inch thickness on a floured work surface. (Dusting with cocoa powder rather than flour will preserve the deep color).
6. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a 3-inch circular cookie cutter to make rounds. Make a smaller cut-out in the center of half the cookies using a 1-inch pastry cutter or flat side of a piping tip. Roll up scraps and repeat.
7. Arrange cookies on baking sheets. Chill cut cookies at least 30 minutes.
8. Preheat oven to 350°F.
9. Bake chilled cookies 12 to 15 minutes until dry looking and set. Cool pans on wire racks.
10. Once cookies have cooled, dust powdered sugar over tops of cookies with cut-outs. Spread 1 teaspoon jam across bottoms of whole cookies. Lay dusted cookies atop each bottom piece, creating sandwiches.
11. Store at room temperature in an airtight container up to 1 week.
12. Cook’s Tips:
13. If you prefer not to use alcohol, substitute 2 tablespoons strong coffee and cream the butter and sugar with zest of 1 orange.
14. What is black cocoa? Black cocoa is a special kind of Dutch-process cocoa that is heavily alkalized. The resulting cocoa powder is strikingly dark and nearly black in color with a rich smoky chocolate flavor. It can be used on it’s own, or combined with other cocoa powders.
15. While the original recipe calls for 3-inch circles, smaller sandwiches can also be made.
16. The dough is rather soft. If it becomes difficult to work with, return to refrigerator to chill slightly. You may also roll the dough out on parchment paper so that the thin cookies can gently be peeled off the paper and more easily transferred to the lined baking sheet.